For many car owners, comprehensive car insurance is a non-negotiable. And like most things, it’s costing Australians more and more each year.
Premiums may get cheaper the older you are, but even people in the age group with the cheapest average premium (drivers aged 60–69) are paying an average $1312 a year for comprehensive car insurance.
Drivers aged 70 and over pay the second-lowest premium for any age group ($1358 per year on average), while younger drivers under 21 are forking out, on average, $3768 a year to insure their wheels with comprehensive coverage.
Drivers under 21 are forking out, on average, $3768 a year for comprehensive coverage
When you’re talking thousands rather than hundreds of dollars each year, it’s even more important that you’re getting the best value for your money.
CHOICE insurance experts have reviewed 70 comprehensive car insurance policies from around 50 brands, assessing each one on their price and the coverage they offer, including exclusions and limits.
We then calculate our CHOICE Expert Rating – an overall percentage score that reflects a policy’s level of cover and the value for money it offers.
Not only can this help you compare policies like-for-like, but it gives you an idea of the policies you probably want to swerve hard to avoid.
Remember, unlike other insurance comparison websites, we don’t get paid by the insurers we’re comparing and we won’t harass you – no phone calls, no commissions.
Save money and get better cover with insurance policies recommended by CHOICE – independent and nonprofit.
There are better policies out there that will give you much better value for money
Daniel Graham, CHOICE car insurance expert
“These policies are mostly middling for coverage and poor for price, such as these specific products from Bupa, Huddle and AHM.
“Or in the case of Suncorp, it’s one of the most expensive products in our entire comparison and is missing the top shelf cover to match.
“There are better policies out there that will give you much better value for money.”
CHOICE tip: Make sure you’re not paying for optional inclusions you don’t necessarily need. You may save some money if you forego things like a hire car after theft or an accident, roadside assistance, or new car replacement if you write off a new car.
While this policy has a decent level of cover, there are many other policies with the same or better cover, at a much better price.
It rated the lowest for price, and this brand actually has other, cheaper policies that offer a better balance of price and cover.
There are many other policies with the same or better cover, at a much better price
In our latest pricing dataset (containing about 7000 quotes on average per product) Suncorp Comprehensive Advantages provided the most expensive quote more than 40% of the time.
So while there are some positive features of this policy, on balance, the price is simply too high for what it’s offering, which is what drags its CHOICE Expert Rating, or overall score, down.
These policies are actually identical versions of one white label policy. It was created by Huddle (and underwritten by Hollard), but is also sold by AHM and Bupa. Their policy prices vary slightly, which is why their CHOICE Expert Rating differs slightly, as you can see below.
But they are at the bottom of the table for their CHOICE Expert Rating (along with Suncorp Comprehensive Advantages) of all the car insurance policies in our comparison.
They’re all rated at 53% for their cover (which is identical), but their price scores are slightly different.
Here’s how they stack up.
Column 1
Bupa Comprehensive
AHM Comprehensive
Huddle Comprehensive
CHOICE Expert Rating
50%
51%
53%
Cover score
53%
53%
53%
Price score
46%
48%
53%
Here are some of the limitations and negatives of these policies:
No choice of repairer. Most policies let you choose the repairer (or have it available as an optional extra). When you have to use the insurer’s repairer there is a chance your car won’t be repaired locally, meaning a long trip to pick it up.
High excesses for younger drivers. While most policies impose additional excesses for drivers under 25, the age excesses for these policies are particularly high: $800 for drivers aged 21–24 and $1200 for drivers under 21. Age excesses from more competitive policies are around the $400–$600 mark.
Replacement parts policy lacks detail. Other insurers commit to using genuine or OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts on newer vehicles, and provide specific details around when they will use aftermarket or refurbished parts. These policies give no such detail, except to say they may use “new or quality used parts, consistent with the age and condition of your car”.
$500 limit for personal items that are stolen from your vehicle or damaged in an accident. Many other insurers have raised this to $1000–$1500 in recent years.
$500 replacement cost for baby seats, capsules and prams. In comparison, some insurers opt to provide “reasonable costs” of replacement for these items. With some prams alone costing over $1000, this coverage may not be enough to replace items damaged in an accident.
No cover for transport costs. Many policies include a few hundred dollars to cover the cost of a cab from the scene of an incident to your home or destination, and often cover the cost to get to the repairer to collect your car. These policies don’t cover any of that.
$500 for emergency accommodation and travel, which only applies 200km away from home if the car cannot be driven. More typical coverage from other policies are $1000 and 100km away from home.
If you choose the options to add on coverage for a hire car if your car is stolen, you’ll only get the rental for 14 days – which is quite short compared to the rest of the market.
How to save money on car insurance
If you’re looking for the best policy for the lowest price, use our tool to compare over 70 comprehensive car insurance policies. You’ll save money and get better cover with car insurance policies recommended by CHOICE.
Daniel Graham is a Senior data analyst in the Insurance and utilities team. He maintains the CHOICE database of general insurance products and is the resident expert in insurance pricing. He covers home, car, pet and health insurance.
Previously, Daniel has worked as a finance journalist and data journalist in the investigations team, focusing on insurance stories and comparisons.
Daniel has a Graduate Diploma of Journalism from UTS and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney. He is RG146 compliance certified to provide general advice in Tier 2 General Insurance and is a member of the Media, Arts and Entertainment Alliance.
Daniel Graham is a Senior data analyst in the Insurance and utilities team. He maintains the CHOICE database of general insurance products and is the resident expert in insurance pricing. He covers home, car, pet and health insurance.
Previously, Daniel has worked as a finance journalist and data journalist in the investigations team, focusing on insurance stories and comparisons.
Daniel has a Graduate Diploma of Journalism from UTS and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney. He is RG146 compliance certified to provide general advice in Tier 2 General Insurance and is a member of the Media, Arts and Entertainment Alliance.
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